Karol G's Global Success Highlights A Major Opportunity

Latina superstars are poised for more brand deals, plus (bad) updates on consumer sentiment and the passing of a beauty-industry legend.

Welcome to Inside The Collective, a newsletter that invites you into the brains, conversations and ideas of Allison Collins and Jessica Ramírez, friends and cofounders of The Consumer Collective. Here, we share weekly thoughts on consumer sentiment, news, retail, fashion, beauty, business, things we like, things we don’t — and why. We hope it helps you connect the dots across the consumer world.

A reminder: Jess will be chatting one of last week’s topics (sports) with Launchmetrics and SportsVerse’s Daniel-Yaw Miller on June 24. Don’t miss it!

What we’re watching:

• How the beauty industry will shift after the passing of industry titan Leonard Lauder, 92. He coined The Lipstick Index, a theory that people buy small luxuries when things are tough, and we believe it holds true today.

• Consumer spending slowed in May, and the Fed held interest rates steady as it expects higher inflation and lower economic growth.

• There are many more articles about personal finance going live lately. Publishers wouldn’t keep posting them if they weren’t being clicked, indicating increased financial interest.

• Prices are starting to inch up for some U.S. products already — certain Nike sneaker models have raised prices by $5. We expect more broad price increases to hit just in time for back-to-school shopping.

• Continued global uncertainty: between the Israel-Iran conflict, an assassination in Minnesota, and a fatal shooting at a No Kings protest in Utah, people are stressed, and discretionary spending is a low priority. (Allison Collins)

We like: going to the movies IRL again.

After years of watching movies while scrolling The RealReal, I went to the local cinema in Brooklyn to see the latest Mission: Impossible and I actually paid attention. It was the first time I’d watched something the entire way through without distractions and without subtitles (though I kind of missed those) since the Barbie movie. Tbh, it felt great to be engaged in the moment, and I’m going again this week. Maybe I’ll even leave my phone at home. (Allison Collins)

We recommend reading:

About how tourism is changing (Bloomberg)

This story about a potential mass-market beauty revival (BeautyMatter)

About viral video game Grow A Garden (also Bloomberg)

How to Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need (NYTimes)

The Analysis is available for paid subscribers only. This week, we’re talking about how brands can maximize their connections with Latina consumers. For more research and strategic advice, send us a note at info@theconsumercollective.co.